Bagels in Fort Dix:
Monday June 8, 7:45 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Manhattan Bagel Company
Manhattan Bagel Company Opens in Fort Dix Food Court; Company Continues to Expand Business Relationship With AAFES
FORT DIX, N.J., June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing to expand its retail bagel operations, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) has opened a full-bake Manhattan Bagel Company restaurant at Fort Dix in southern New Jersey. Three additional AAFES Manhattan Bagel military base restaurants are expected to open by year-end, with a fourth scheduled for early 1999.
Located within the post's food court, the 600-square-foot unit at Fort Dix is the third to be operated by AAFES under a licensing agreement with Eatontown, N.J.-based Manhattan Bagel Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGLQE - news). Terms of the agreement permit AAFES to operate Manhattan Bagel shops on selected U.S. military installations throughout the world.
At Fort Dix, the bagels are boiled and baked throughout the day within the Manhattan Bagel shop. In addition to 23 varieties of freshly baked bagels, the unit offers Manhattan Bagel's lineup of over 20 different cheese spreads, as well as the chain's full menu of breakfast and lunch sandwiches. The bakery will also supply bagels and cheese spreads to Manhattan Bagel-branded cases that are expected to be placed at the Shoppette convenience stores at Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base.
The Fort Dix food court is located within the building that houses the base's PX/BX and commissary.
The additional AAFES Manhattan Bagel locations planned this year are in Travis AFB in California, and Fort Rucker and Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, according to Rocco Fiorentino, Manhattan Bagel vice president- business development. AAFES has also scheduled openings for early next year at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska and Keesler AFB in Mississippi.
AAFES, headquartered in Dallas, operates Army and Air Force Post and Base Exchanges at approximately 176 major military installations worldwide. The Exchanges serve over 7.9 million authorized customers from the military community. AAFES' total sales for 1997 were $7.2 billion, with 7.1% derived from food service operations.
Manhattan Bagel, headquartered in Eatontown, N.J., franchises, licenses and operates over 310 stores in 18 states and Washington, D.C., and Canada. The company also operates manufacturing plants in Eatontown; Greenville, S.C.; and Los Angeles.
Certain statements in this press release constitute ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
The success of Manhattan Bagel Company stores will depend on, among other things, consumer taste, local economic conditions, demographic trends, and the type, number and location of competing businesses. The success of Manhattan Bagel units within AAFES facilities will depend on, among other things, the success of the locations in which they opened, in addition to the foregoing factors.
The openings of Manhattan Bagel units on AAFES bases may be subject to potential delays caused by, among other things, agreement by the company and AAFES on the location, weather, the delivery of equipment and materials, and the availability of labor.
The public is also referred to the risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1997, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
|
